SECOND EDITION TOKNOW ABOUT 1EVERY00 DESIGNER NEEDSTHINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PEOPLE SUSAN M. WEINSCHENK, Ph.D. PEOPLE 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People Susan Weinschenk

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Executive Editor: Laura Norman Development Editor: Jeff Riley Senior Production Editor: Tracey Croom Copy Editor: Scout Festa Compositor: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama Proofreader: Kim Wimpsett Indexer: James Minkin Cover Design: Mimi Heft with Chuti Prasertsith Interior Design: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

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I am grateful to Jeff Riley, my developmental editor, who helped me with the first and second editions of this book and many other books in between. Thank you to the ­Pearson team for their support and great work on cover design, graphics, layout, ­publishing, and distributing. DEDICATION

Dedicated to the memory of Miles and Jeanette Schwartz. Wish you were here to share the book with. CONTENTS

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DESIGN xv

HOW PEOPLE SEE

1 WHAT YOU SEE ISN’T WHAT YOUR BRAIN GETS 2

2 PERIPHERAL VISION IS USED MORE THAN CENTRAL VISION TO GET THE GIST OF WHAT YOU SEE 5

3 PEOPLE IDENTIFY OBJECTS BY RECOGNIZING PATTERNS 8

4 THERE’S A SPECIAL PART OF THE BRAIN JUST FOR RECOGNIZING FACES 10

5 THERE’S A SPECIAL PART OF THE BRAIN FOR PROCESSING SIMPLE VISUAL FEATURES 13

6 PEOPLE SCAN SCREENS BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE AND EXPECTATIONS 15

7 PEOPLE SEE CUES THAT TELL THEM WHAT TO DO WITH AN OBJECT 17

8 PEOPLE CAN MISS CHANGES IN THEIR VISUAL FIELDS 21

9 PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THINGS THAT ARE CLOSE TOGETHER BELONG TOGETHER 23

10 RED AND BLUE TOGETHER ARE HARD ON THE EYES 24

11 NINE PERCENT OF MEN AND ONE-HALF PERCENT OF WOMEN ARE COLOR-BLIND 25

12 COLORS MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT CULTURES 29

HOW PEOPLE READ

13 IT’S A MYTH THAT WORDS IN ALL CAPS ARE INHERENTLY HARD TO READ 32

14 READING AND COMPREHENDING ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS 35

v 15 PATTERN RECOGNITION HELPS PEOPLE IDENTIFY LETTERS IN DIFFERENT FONTS 40

16 FONT SIZE MATTERS 43

17 READING A SCREEN IS HARDER THAN READING PAPER 45

18 PEOPLE READ FASTER WITH A LONGER LINE LENGTH, BUT THEY PREFER A SHORTER LINE LENGTH 46

HOW PEOPLE REMEMBER

19 SHORT-TERM MEMORY IS LIMITED 50

20 PEOPLE REMEMBER ONLY FOUR ITEMS AT ONCE 52

21 PEOPLE HAVE TO USE INFORMATION TO MAKE IT STICK 55

22 IT’S EASIER TO RECOGNIZE INFORMATION THAN RECALL IT 57

23 MEMORY TAKES A LOT OF MENTAL RESOURCES 59

24 PEOPLE RECONSTRUCT MEMORIES EACH TIME THEY REMEMBER THEM 61

25 IT’S A GOOD THING THAT PEOPLE FORGET 63

26 THE MOST VIVID MEMORIES ARE WRONG 65

HOW PEOPLE THINK

27 PEOPLE PROCESS INFORMATION BETTER IN BITE-SIZED CHUNKS 68

28 SOME TYPES OF MENTAL PROCESSING ARE MORE CHALLENGING THAN OTHERS 71

29 MINDS WANDER 30 PERCENT OF THE TIME 74

30 THE MORE UNCERTAIN PEOPLE ARE, THE MORE THEY DEFEND THEIR IDEAS 76

31 PEOPLE CREATE MENTAL MODELS 78

32 PEOPLE INTERACT WITH CONCEPTUAL MODELS 80

33 PEOPLE PROCESS INFORMATION BEST IN STORY FORM 82

34 PEOPLE LEARN BEST FROM EXAMPLES 85

35 PEOPLE ARE DRIVEN TO CREATE CATEGORIES 87

vi CONTENTS 36 TIME IS RELATIVE 89

37 PEOPLE SCREEN OUT INFORMATION THAT DOESN’T FIT THEIR BELIEFS 91

38 PEOPLE CAN BE IN A FLOW STATE 93

39 CULTURE AFFECTS HOW PEOPLE THINK 95

HOW PEOPLE FOCUS THEIR ATTENTION

40 ATTENTION IS SELECTIVE 98

41 PEOPLE HABITUATE TO INFORMATION 100

42 WELL-PRACTICED SKILLS DON’T REQUIRE CONSCIOUS ATTENTION 101

43 EXPECTATIONS OF FREQUENCY AFFECT ATTENTION 103

44 SUSTAINED ATTENTION LASTS ABOUT 10 MINUTES 105

45 PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION ONLY TO SALIENT CUES 106

46 PEOPLE ARE WORSE AT MULTITASKING THAN THEY THINK 107

47 DANGER, FOOD, SEX, MOVEMENT, FACES, AND STORIES GET THE MOST ATTENTION 110

48 LOUD NOISES STARTLE AND GET ATTENTION 112

49 FOR PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION TO SOMETHING, THEY MUST FIRST PERCEIVE IT 114

WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE

50 PEOPLE ARE MORE MOTIVATED AS THEY GET CLOSER TO A GOAL 118

51 VARIABLE REWARDS ARE POWERFUL 120

52 DOPAMINE STIMULATES THE SEEKING OF INFORMATION 123

53 UNPREDICTABILITY KEEPS PEOPLE SEARCHING 125

54 PEOPLE ARE MORE MOTIVATED BY INTRINSIC REWARDS THAN BY EXTRINSIC REWARDS 127

55 PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED BY PROGRESS, MASTERY, AND CONTROL 129

56 PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED BY SOCIAL NORMS 131

CONTENTS vii 57 PEOPLE ARE INHERENTLY LAZY 132

58 PEOPLE WILL LOOK FOR SHORTCUTS ONLY IF THE SHORTCUTS ARE EASY 135

59 PEOPLE ASSUME IT’S YOU, NOT THE SITUATION 136

60 FORMING OR CHANGING A HABIT IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK 138

61 PEOPLE ARE MORE MOTIVATED TO COMPETE WHEN THERE ARE FEWER COMPETITORS 140

62 PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED BY AUTONOMY 142

PEOPLE ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS

63 THE “STRONG TIE” GROUP SIZE LIMIT IS 150 PEOPLE 144

64 PEOPLE ARE HARD WIRED FOR IMITATION AND EMPATHY 147

65 DOING THINGS TOGETHER BONDS PEOPLE TOGETHER 149

66 PEOPLE EXPECT ONLINE INTERACTIONS TO FOLLOW SOCIAL RULES 151

67 PEOPLE LIE TO DIFFERING DEGREES DEPENDING ON THE MEDIUM 153

68 SPEAKERS’ BRAINS AND LISTENERS’ BRAINS SYNC UP DURING COMMUNICATION 156

69 THE BRAIN RESPONDS UNIQUELY TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW PERSONALLY 157

70 LAUGHTER BONDS PEOPLE TOGETHER 159

71 PEOPLE CAN TELL WHEN A SMILE IS REAL OR FAKE MORE ACCURATELY WITH VIDEO 162

HOW PEOPLE FEEL

72 SOME EMOTIONS MAY BE UNIVERSAL 166

73 POSITIVE FEELINGS ABOUT A GROUP CAN LEAD TO GROUPTHINK 169

74 STORIES AND ANECDOTES PERSUADE MORE THAN DATA ALONE 170

75 IF PEOPLE CAN’T FEEL, THEN THEY CAN’T DECIDE 171

76 PEOPLE ARE PROGRAMMED TO ENJOY SURPRISES 173

77 PEOPLE ARE HAPPIER WHEN THEY’RE BUSY 175

viii CONTENTS 78 PASTORAL SCENES MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY 177

79 PEOPLE USE “LOOK AND FEEL” AS THEIR FIRST INDICATOR OF TRUST 179

80 LISTENING TO MUSIC RELEASES DOPAMINE IN THE BRAIN 181

81 THE MORE DIFFICULT SOMETHING IS TO ACHIEVE, THE MORE PEOPLE LIKE IT 182

82 PEOPLE OVERESTIMATE REACTIONS TO FUTURE EVENTS 184

83 PEOPLE FEEL MORE POSITIVE BEFORE AND AFTER AN EVENT THAN DURING IT 185

84 PEOPLE WANT WHAT IS FAMILIAR WHEN THEY’RE SAD OR SCARED 187

PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES

85 PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS MAKE MISTAKES; THERE IS NO FAIL-SAFE PRODUCT 190

86 PEOPLE MAKE ERRORS WHEN THEY ARE UNDER STRESS 192

87 NOT ALL MISTAKES ARE BAD 196

88 PEOPLE MAKE PREDICTABLE TYPES OF ERRORS 197

89 PEOPLE USE DIFFERENT ERROR STRATEGIES 200

HOW PEOPLE DECIDE

90 PEOPLE MAKE MOST DECISIONS UNCONSCIOUSLY 204

91 THE UNCONSCIOUS KNOWS FIRST 206

92 PEOPLE WANT MORE CHOICES AND INFORMATION THAN THEY CAN PROCESS 208

93 PEOPLE THINK CHOICE EQUALS CONTROL 210

94 PEOPLE MAY CARE ABOUT TIME MORE THAN THEY CARE ABOUT MONEY 212

95 MOOD INFLUENCES THE DECISION- MAKING PROCESS 214

96 YOU CAN ENGINEER BETTER GROUP DECISIONS 216

97 PEOPLE MAKE HABIT-BASED DECISIONS OR VALUE-BASED DECISIONS, BUT NOT BOTH AT THE SAME TIME 218

CONTENTS ix 98 WHEN PEOPLE ARE UNCERTAIN, THEY LET OTHERS DECIDE WHAT TO DO 220

99 PEOPLE THINK OTHERS ARE MORE EASILY INFLUENCED THAN THEY ARE THEMSELVES 222

100 PEOPLE VALUE A PRODUCT MORE HIGHLY WHEN IT’S PHYSICALLY IN FRONT OF THEM 224

REFERENCES 227

INDEX 237

x CONTENTS THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DESIGN

Whether you’re designing a website, an app, software, or a medical device, the more you know about people, the better experience you will be able to design for your audience. Your audience’s experience is profoundly impacted by what you know—or don’t know—about them. How do they think? How do they decide? What motivates them to click or purchase or whatever it is you want them to do? You’ll learn these things in this book. You’ll also learn what grabs attention, what errors people make and why, and other things that will help you design. And you’ll design better because I’ve already done most of the heavy lifting for you. I’m one of those strange people who like to read research. Lots and lots of research. So I read—or in some cases, re-read—dozens of books and hundreds of research arti- cles. I picked my favorite theories, concepts, and research studies and combined them with the experience I’ve gained throughout the many years I’ve been designing technol- ogy interfaces. And you’re holding the result: 100 things I think you need to know about people. Note about the second edition: When I wrote the first edition of this book, I hoped, of course, that it would be a popular, widely read book. But I didn’t know if people would respond to it or not. It’s been a surprise and a heart warming experience to have the reaction to the book be so positive. The first edition has been translated into several languages and used as a textbook in many universities, and people often show me their well-used book with marks and sticky notes and highlights. It’s been several years since I wrote the first edition, and most of the material has stood the test of time. There is some new research, however, so I decided it was time to do a second edition. I’ve done updates, and tweaked explanations, wordings, and images, to make sure the book stays current. A big thank-you to all my readers for your support.

Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. Edgar, WI June 2020

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DESIGN xi

HOW PEOPLE SEE

Vision trumps all the senses. Half of the brain’s resources are dedicated to seeing and interpreting what we see. What our eyes physically perceive is only one part of the story. The images com- ing in to our brains are changed and interpreted. It’s really our brains that are “seeing.” 1 WHAT YOU SEE ISN’T WHAT YOUR BRAIN GETS

You think that as you’re walking around looking at the world, your eyes are sending information to your brain, which processes it and gives you a realistic experience of “what’s out there.” But the truth is that what your brain comes up with isn’t exactly what your eyes are seeing. Your brain is constantly interpreting everything you see. Take a look at Figure 1.1, for example. What do you see? At first you probably see a triangle with a black border in the back- ground and an upside-down white triangle on top of it. Of course, that’s not really what’s there, is it? In reality there are merely lines and partial circles. Your brain creates the shape of an upside-down triangle out of empty space, because that’s what it expects to see. This particular illusion is called a Kanizsa triangle, named for the Italian psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa, who developed it in 1955. Now look at Figure 1.2, which creates a similar illusion with a rectangle.

FIGURE 1.1 You see triangles, but they are not really FIGURE 1.2 An example of a Kanizsa rectangle there

THE BRAIN CREATES SHORTCUTS Your brain creates these shortcuts in order to quickly make sense out of the world around you. Your brain receives millions of sensory inputs every second (the estimate is 40 million), and it’s trying to make sense of all of that input. It uses rules of thumb, based

2 HOW PEOPLE SEE on past experience, to make guesses about what you see. Most of the time that works, but sometimes it causes errors. You can influence what people see, or think they see, by the use of shapes and col- ors. Figure 1.3 shows how color can draw attention to one message over another.

FIGURE 1.3 Color and shapes can influence what people see

8 If you need to see in the dark, don’t look straight ahead The eye has 7 million cones that are sensitive to bright light and 125 million rods that are sensitive to low light. The cones are in the fovea (central area of vision), and the rods are less central. So if you’re in low light, you’ll see better if you don’t look right at the area you’re trying to see.

N Optical illusions show us the errors Optical illusions are examples of how the brain misinterprets what the eyes see. For example, in Figure 1.4 the line on the left looks longer than the line on the right, but they’re actually the same length. Named for Franz Müller-Lyer, who created it in 1889, this is one of the oldest optical illusions.

FIGURE 1.4 These lines are actually the same length

1 WHAT YOU SEE ISN’T WHAT YOUR BRAIN GETS 3 8 We see in 2D, not 3D Light rays enter the eye through the cornea and lens. The lens focuses an image on the retina. On the retina it is always a two-dimensional representation, even if it is a three- dimensional object. This image is sent to the visual cortex in the brain, and that’s where recognition of patterns takes place—for example, “Oh, I recognize that as a door.” The visual cortex turns the 2D image into a 3D representation.

Takeaways Õ What you think people are going to see when you design a product may or may not be what they actually see. What people see might depend on their background, knowl- edge, familiarity with what they are looking at, and expectations. Õ You might be able to persuade people to see things in a certain way, depending on how you present information and visual elements. You can use shading or colors to make it look like some things go together and others don’t.

4 HOW PEOPLE SEE 2 PERIPHERAL VISION IS USED MORE THAN CENTRAL VISION TO GET THE GIST OF WHAT YOU SEE

You have two types of vision: central and peripheral. Central vision is what you use to look at things directly and to see details. Peripheral vision encompasses the rest of the visual field—areas that are visible but that you’re not looking at directly. Being able to see things out of the corner of your eye is certainly useful, but research from Kansas State University shows that peripheral vision is more important in understanding the world around us than most people realize. It seems that we get information on what type of scene we’re looking at from our peripheral vision.

8 Why movement on a screen is so annoying People can’t help but notice movement in their peripheral vision. For example, if you’re reading text on a screen and there’s a video that starts to play off to the side, you can’t help but look at it. This can be quite annoying if you’re trying to concentrate on read- ing the text in front of you. This is peripheral vision at work! This is why advertisers use blinking and flashing in the ads that are at the periphery of web pages. Even though we may find it annoying, it does get our attention.

Adam Larson and Lester Loschky (2009) conducted research on central and periph- eral vision in 2009, and Loschky conducted even more research in 2019. In the research they showed people photographs of common scenes, such as a kitchen or a living room, or outdoor scenes of cities and mountains. In some of the photographs the outside of the image was obscured, and in others the central part of the image was obscured (Fig- ure 2.1). Then they asked the research participants to identify what they were looking at. Loschky found that if the central part of the photo was missing, people could still identify what they were looking at. But when the peripheral part of the image was miss- ing, they had a much harder time identifying what they were looking at. Loschky con- cluded that central vision is critical for specific object recognition, but peripheral vision is used for getting the gist of a scene.

2 PERIPHERAL VISION IS USED MORE THAN CENTRAL VISION TO GET THE GIST OF WHAT YOU SEE 5 FIGURE 2.1 A photo used in the original Larson and Loschky research

If someone is looking at a desktop screen, you can assume that they are using both peripheral and central vision. The same is true if they are looking at a laptop screen or a large tablet. With mobile screens, depending on the size of the device, it is possible that there is no peripheral vision available on the screen.

N Peripheral vision kept our ancestors alive on the savannah The theory, from an evolutionary standpoint, is that early humans who were sharpening their flint or looking up at the clouds and yet still noticed that a lion was coming at them in their peripheral vision survived to pass on their genes. Those with poor peripheral vision didn’t survive to pass on genes.

Additional research confirms this idea. Dimitri Bayle (2009) placed pictures of fearful objects in subjects’ peripheral vision or central vision. Then he measured how long it took for the amygdala (the emotional part of the brain that responds to fearful images) to react. When the fearful object was shown in the central vision, it took from 140 to 190 milliseconds for the amygdala to react. But when objects were shown in peripheral vision, it took only 80 milliseconds for the amygdala to react.

6 HOW PEOPLE SEE Takeaways Õ If you are designing for a desktop or laptop screen, you should assume that people are using both peripheral and central vision. Õ Although the middle of the screen is important for central vision, don’t ignore what is in viewers’ peripheral vision. Make sure the information in the periphery communicates clearly the purpose of the page or information they are viewing. Õ If you have images of an emotional nature, put them in the periphery instead of in the middle. Õ If you want users to concentrate on a certain part of the screen, don’t put animation or blinking elements in their peripheral vision.

2 PERIPHERAL VISION IS USED MORE THAN CENTRAL VISION TO GET THE GIST OF WHAT YOU SEE 7 3 PEOPLE IDENTIFY OBJECTS BY RECOGNIZING PATTERNS

Recognizing patterns helps you make quick sense of the sensory input that comes to you every second. Your eyes and brain want to create patterns, even if there are no real patterns there. In Figure 3.1, you probably see four sets of two dots each rather than eight individual dots. You interpret the white space, or lack of it, as a pattern.

FIGURE 3.1 Your brain wants to see patterns

THE GEON THEORY OF OBJECT RECOGNITION There have been many theories over the years about how we see and recognize objects. An early theory was that the brain has a memory bank that stores millions of objects, and when you see an object, you compare it with all the items in your memory bank until you fnd the one that matches. But research now suggests that you recognize basic shapes in what you are looking at, and use these basic shapes, called geometric icons (or geons), to identify objects. Irving Biederman came up with the idea of geons in 1987 (Figure 3.2). It’s thought that there are 24 basic shapes that we recognize; they form the building blocks of all the objects we see and identify. If you want people to quickly recognize what an object is, you should make use of simple shapes. This makes it easier to recognize the basic geons that make up the shape. The smaller the object to recognize (for example, a small icon of a printer or a document), the more important it is to use simple geons without a lot of embellishment.

8 HOW PEOPLE SEE GEONS OBJECTS

2 1 5 3 1

5 5 3 4 3 2

5 5 4

3 3

FIGURE 3.2 Some samples of Biederman’s geons

Takeaways Õ Use patterns as much as possible, since people will automatically be looking for them. Use grouping and white space to create patterns. Õ If you want people to recognize an object (for example, an icon), use a simple geomet- ric drawing of the object. This will make it easier to recognize the underlying geons and thus make the object easier and faster to recognize.

3 PEOPLE IDENTIFY OBJECTS BY RECOGNIZING PATTERNS 9 4 THERE’S A SPECIAL PART OF THE BRAIN JUST FOR RECOGNIZING FACES

Imagine that you’re walking down a busy street in a large city when you suddenly see the face of a family member. Even if you were not expecting to see this person and even if there are dozens or even hundreds of people in your visual feld, you will imme- diately recognize him or her as your relative. You’ll also have an accompanying emo- tional response, be it love, hate, fear, or otherwise. Although the visual cortex is huge and takes up signifcant brain resources, there is a special part of the brain outside the visual cortex whose sole purpose is to recognize faces. Identifed by Nancy Kanwisher (1997), the fusiform face area (FFA) allows faces to bypass the brain’s usual interpretive channels and helps us identify them more quickly than objects. The FFA is also near the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center. This means that faces grab our attention and also evoke an emotional response. If you show faces in your design, on a page or screen, it will grab attention immediately and convey emotional information. If you want to use faces to grab attention and evoke an emotional response, make sure that the face is facing forward (not in profle), large enough to be easily seen, and showing the emotion you want to convey.

8 People with autism don’t view faces with the FFA Research by Karen Pierce (2001) showed that people with autism don’t use the FFA when looking at faces. Instead, they use other, regular pathways in the brain and visual cortex that are normally used to recognize and interpret objects but not faces.

10 HOW PEOPLE SEE N We look where the face looks Eye-tracking research shows that if a face in a picture looks away from us and toward a product on a web page (Figure 4.1), we tend to also look at the product.

But remember, just because people look at something, it doesn’t mean they’re paying attention. You’ll have to decide whether you want to establish an emo- tional connection (the face looking right at the viewer) or to direct attention (the face looking directly at a product). FIGURE 4.1 We look where the person looks

8 People are born with a preference for faces Research by Catherine Mondloch et al. (1999) shows that newborns less than an hour old prefer looking at something that has facial features. The FFA’s sensitivity to faces appears to be something we are born with.

The eyes have it: people decide who and what is alive by looking N at the eyes

Christine Looser and T. Wheatley (2010) took pictures of people and then morphed them in stages into inanimate mannequin faces. In the research, subjects are shown the stages and asked to decide when the picture is no longer a human and alive. Figure 4.2 shows examples of the pictures. Their research found that subjects say the pictures no longer show someone who is alive at about the 75 percent mark. They also found that people pri- marily use the eyes to decide whether a picture shows someone who is human and alive.

FIGURE 4.2 An example of Looser and Wheatley’s people-to-mannequin faces

4 THERE’S A SPECIAL PART OF THE BRAIN JUST FOR RECOGNIZING FACES 11 INDEX

2D vs. 3D vision, 4 Batson, C., 89 Bayle, Dimitri, 6 A Bechara, Antoine, 171, 206 Aaker, Jennifer, 212 Begley, Sharon, 96 Aarts, Henk, 127 beliefs academic success, 51 cognitive dissonance and, 76–77 action possibilities, 17 confirmation bias and, 91–92 affordance cues, 17–20 Bellenkes, Andrew, 103 algorithmic work, 128 Belova, Marina, 173 Alloway, Tracy, 51 Berman, Mark, 178 animal laughter, 160 Berns, Gregory, 173 anticipation, 124, 181, 185 Berridge, Kent, 123 ARCS model, 70 Biederman, Irving, 8 Aristotle, 82 body language, 148 Aronson, Elliot, 182 bonding arousal laughter and social, 159–161 levels of emotional, 167 synchronous activity and, 149–150 performance related to, 192–193 Boyd, John, 89 Art Instinct, The (Dutton), 177 brain Art of Choosing, The (Iyengar), 208, 210 emotional mirroring and, 172 attention, 97–115 facial recognition and, 10–12 flow state and, 93 memory and, 50, 55 frequency expectations and, 103–104 mental processing and, 68 information habituation and, 100 mirror neurons in, 147, 148, 156 items getting the most, 110–111 response to friends/relatives, 157–158 multitasking and, 107–109 synced during communication, 156 salient cues and, 106 three parts of, 110 selective, 98–99 time perception and, 90 signal detection theory and, 114–115 visual processing and, 2–4, 13–14 sounds for getting, 112–113 wandering mind and, 74 sustained span of, 105 word processing and, 38 well-practiced skills and, 101 brain scans working memory and, 50 cultural differences and, 96 attention restoration therapy, 178 time perception and, 90 attitudes vs. emotions, 166 wandering minds and, 74 auditory stimuli, 112–113 working memory and, 50, 51 autism, 10 Broadbent, Donald, 53 autonomy, 142 Bushong, Ben, 224 B C Baddeley, Alan, 52 camouflage, 28 Bahrami, Bahador, 217 Canessa, Nicola, 172 Bandura, Albert, 154 card-sorting exercise, 87 Bargh, John, 148 Carlsson, Arvid, 123 basal ganglia, 90, 94 categorizing, 87–88

INDEX 237 Cattell, James, 32 Davis, Joshua, 171 cellphones daydreaming, 74 multitasking and use of, 107–108 De Vries, Marieke, 187, 214 See also phone conversations decision-making, 203–226 central vision, 5–7 choice related to, 208–211 Chabris, Christopher, 21, 83 emotions and, 171–172 change blindness, 21 group process and, 216–217 Chartrand, Tanya, 148 habit-based vs. value-based, 218–219 Chen, Yi-Fen, 221 mood as influence on, 214–215 chimpanzee memory study, 54 product display and, 224–226 choices social validation and, 220–223 control related to, 210–211 third-person effect and, 222 study on making, 208–209 time vs. money in, 212–213 chromostereopsis, 24 unconscious, 204–207 Chua, Hannah, 95 decorative fonts, 41 chunking information, 52, 54 defaults and shortcuts, 135 classical conditioning, 139 Design of Everyday Things, The (Norman), 17 cognitive dissonance, 76–77, 182 disasters, natural vs. man-made, 137 cognitive illusion, 91 Dodson, John, 192 cognitive load, 71, 73 Don’t Make Me Think (Krug), 70, 132 color-blindness, 25–28 dopamine system, 123–124 colors breaking dopamine loops, 126 chromostereopsis and, 24 monetary rewards and, 128 cultural meaning of, 29, 30 music listening and, 181 deficiencies in seeing, 25–28 unpredictability and, 125–126 influence of shapes and, 3, 13–14 dreaming, memory and, 60 moods affected by, 30 Drive (Pink), 128, 130 commission errors, 197 dropdown menus, 64 competition, 140–141 Duchenne smiles, 162–163 conceptual models, 80–81 Duchenne, Guillaume, 162 confirmation bias, 91–92 Dunbar, Robin, 144, 146 contingent rewards, 127 Dunbar’s number, 144–145 continuous reinforcement schedules, 122 Dutton, Denis, 177 control Dyson, Mary, 46 autonomy and, 142 choice related to, 210–211 E flow state and, 93 Ebbinghaus, Hermann, 63 Cowan, Nelson, 52 Ekman, Paul, 166–167 Craik, Kenneth, 78 email creativity, mind wandering and, 75 determining lying in, 154 Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 93 dopamine system and, 123, 125 cues Emberson, Lauren, 108 affordance, 17–20 emotions, 165–188 salient, 106 arousal levels for, 167 culture before and after events, 185–186 color meaning and, 29, 30 brain mirroring of, 172 emotional expression and, 166 busyness and, 175–176 thinking related to, 95–96 decision-making and, 171–172 Custers, Ruud, 127 difficult achievements and, 182–183 familiarity and, 187–188 D groupthink and positive, 169 danger happiness and, 175–178, 179–180 attention grabbed by, 110–111 moods distinguished from, 166 unconscious awareness of, 206–207 music listening and, 181 Darley, John, 89, 220 pastoral scenes and, 177–178

238 INDEX predictions of future, 184 free trials, 77 real vs. fake smiles and, 163 frequency expectations, 103–104 stories and anecdotes to evoke, 170 fundamental attribution errors, 136–137 surprises and, 173–174 fusiform face area (FFA), 10, 11 trust related to, 179–180 universality of, 166–167 G vivid memories and, 65 Gal, David, 77 Emotions Revealed (Ekman), 166 gaming, 73 empathy, 147 Garcia, Stephen, 140 errors, 189–201 generalizing research, 96 automatic steps leading to, 101 Gentner, Dedre, 78 computer messages indicating, 190–191 Geography of Bliss, The (Weiner), 179 considering the consequences of, 196 Geography of Thought, The (Nisbett), 95 fundamental attribution, 136–137 geon theory, 8–9 HFACS classification of, 199 Gibson, James, 17 inevitability of, 190 Gilbert, Daniel, 184 memory-related, 57, 65 goal-gradient effect, 118 performance and motor-control, 197–198 Good Samaritan research, 89–90 strategies in correcting, 200–201 gorilla video, 21 stress and the making of, 192–195 Greene, David, 127 Swiss cheese model of, 198 group decision-making, 216–217 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (film), 62 groupthink, 169, 216 evolutionary perspectives, 6, 110, 123, 132, 177 examples, providing, 85–86 H exclusivity and scarcity, 182 habit formation/change, 138–139 expectations, time-related, 90 habit-based decisions, 218–219 eyes, life indicated through, 11 habituation, information, 100 See also vision Haidt, Jonathan, 150 eye-tracking research, 11, 21–22 Hancock, Jeff, 154 eyewitness testimonies, 61–62 happiness, 175–178 busyness related to, 175–176 F pastoral scenes and, 177–178 facial expressions, 166–167 predictions of future, 184 facial recognition, 10–12 trust as predictor of, 179–180 familiarity, 187–188 Havas, David, 171 fear of loss, 187 headlines and titles, 37 feedback, flow state and, 93, 94 Heath, Chip, 149 feelings. See emotions heuristic work, 128 Festinger, Leon, 76, 182 Hillarp, Nils-Ake, 123 Fishbach, Ayelet, 119 Hsee, Christopher, 175 Fitts’s law, 72 Hubel, David, 13 fixation patterns, 32–33 Hull, Clark, 118 fixed reinforcement schedules, 120–121 Human Error (Reason), 198 flashbulb memories, 65 Hyman, Ira, 107 Flesch-Kincaid formula, 35 hyperlinks, 19–20, 75 flow state, 93–94 fMRI technology. See brain scans I focused attention, 50 imagination, 14 fonts imitation, 147, 148 decorative, 41 inattention blindness, 21 readability of, 40–42 inclusion errors, 57 serif vs. sans serif, 40 incorrect affordances, 17 size of, 43–44 information forgetting, 63–64 chunking, 52, 54 four-item rule, 52–54 habituation to, 100

INDEX 239 InformationIsBeautiful.net, 29, 30 M initiation effect, 182 Mandler, George, 53 interactions. See social interactions Manstead, Antony, 163 interval reinforcement schedules, 120–121 mastery as motivator, 130 Invisible Gorilla, The (Chabris and Simons), 21, 83 Matsuzawa, Tetsuro, 54 Iyengar, Sheena, 208, 210 McCandless, David, 29 J medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), 158 Jack, Rachel, 166 memory, 49–66 Ji, Daoyun, 60 brain processes and, 50–51, 55 Johnson-Laird, Philip, 78 emotions and, 65 joy laughter, 160 errors of, 57, 65 flashbulb, 65 K forgetting and, 63–64 Kahn, Peter, 178 four-item rule and, 52–54 Kang, Neung Eun, 200, 201 inclusion errors, 57 Kanizsa, Gaetano, 2 interesting facts about, 59 Kanwisher, Nancy, 10 long-term, 53, 55–56 Kaplan, Stephen, 178 phonological coding and, 60 Kawai, Nobuyuki, 54 reading viewpoint and, 38 Keller, J. M., 70 recency and suffix effects, 59 Kivetz, Ran, 118 recognition vs. recall tasks and, 57 Knutson, Brian, 128 reconstruction process, 61–62 Koo, Minjung, 119 repetition and, 55 Krienen, Fenna, 157 schemata and, 55–56 Krug, Steve, 70, 132 sleep and, 60 Krumhuber, Eva, 163 working, 50–51, 52–53, 54 Kurtzberg, Terri, 154 mental models, 78–79 conceptual models vs., 80–81 L of frequency expectations, 103 Larson, Adam, 5 of screen layout, 16 Larson, Kevin, 34 Mental Models (Gentner), 78 Latane, Bibb, 220 Mental Models (Johnson-Laird), 78 laughter, 159–161 mental processing. See thinking laziness, 132, 175 mid-brain, 110, 187 LeDoux, Joseph, 166 Miller, George A., 52 Lepper, Mark, 127, 208 mind wandering, 74–75 Lerner, Jennifer, 169 mirror neurons, 147, 148, 156 Lim, Nangyeon, 167 mistakes. See errors loads, 71–73 Fitts’s law of, 72 Mitchell, Terence, 185 mental resources used by, 71 models reasons for increasing, 73 conceptual, 80–81 trade-offs related to, 71 mental, 16, 78–79 Loftus, Elizabeth, 61 Mogilner, Cassie, 212 long-term memory Mojzisch, Andreas, 216 four-item rule and, 53 Mondloch, Katherine, 11 repetition and, 55 monetary rewards, 128 schemata and, 55–56 moods Looser, Christine, 11 affected by color, 30 Loschky, Lester, 5 decision-making influenced by, 214–215 low-light vision, 3 emotions distinguished from, 166 Lupien, Sonia, 193 research on changing, 187 lying, 153–155 moral disengagement theory, 154

240 INDEX Morrell taxonomy, 197 opioid system, 123 motivation, 117–142 optical illusions, 3 autonomy and, 142 competition and, 140–141 P connecting with others as, 128 Paap, Kenneth, 32 disaster relief donations and, 137 Panksepp, Jaak, 160 dopamine system and, 123–126 parietal lobe, 90 fundamental attribution errors and, 136–137 pastoral scenes, 177–178 goal achievement and, 118–119 pattern recognition habit formation/change and, 138–139 reading and, 40–42 intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards and, 127–128 visual perception and, 8–9 progress and mastery in, 129–130 Pavlov, Ivan, 125 satisficing principle and, 132–134 Pavlovian response, 125, 226 shortcuts and defaults for, 135 perceived affordances, 17, 18–19 social norms related to, 131 performance errors, 197 unconscious goal setting and, 127 performance reviews, 154 unpredictability and, 125–126 peripheral vision variable rewards and, 120–122 central vision vs., 5–7 motor load, 71, 72, 73 reading and use of, 33 motor switching, 72 phone conversations motor-control errors, 197–198 lying in, 154 movement multitasking during, 107–108 brain processing of, 13 phonological coding, 60 in peripheral vision, 5 Pierce, Karen, 10 Müller-Lyer, Franz, 3 Pink, Daniel, 128, 129, 130 multitasking, 107–109 pleasure, 123, 181 media use and, 108 Pope, Alexander, 189 mind wandering and, 75 prefrontal cortex, 50–51, 94 video and test about, 109 progress as motivator, 129 music progress indicators, 89, 90 listening to, 181 progressive disclosure, 68–70 reading, 33 Provine, Robert, 159 proximity of items, 23 N Naquin, Charles, 153, 154 R Nass, Clifford, 108 Ramachandran, Vilayanur, 148 Nature of Explanation, The (Craik), 78 ratings and reviews, 220–223 Neisser, Ulric, 65 ratio reinforcement schedules, 120–121 Neuro Web Design (Weinschenk), 76, 110, 187, 220 Rayner, Keith, 32 new brain, 110 reading, 31–48 Nisbett, Richard, 95, 127 brain processes and, 38 Nolan, Jessica, 131 comprehending and, 35–39 Norman, Don, 17 font considerations and, 40–44 letter case and, 32, 33–34 O line length and, 46–48 object recognition, 8–9 memory related to, 38 old brain, 110, 142 pattern recognition in, 40–42 omission errors, 197 peripheral vision used in, 33 online interactions readability calculations and, 35–36 community bonding and, 149 saccade and fixation patterns in, 32–33 need for laughter in, 160 text on screen vs. paper, 45 social rules in, 151–152 titles and headlines, 37 operant conditioning, 120–122 word shape and, 32 Ophir, Eyal, 108 Reason, James, 198

INDEX 241 recall tasks, 57 Smith, Madeline, 154 recency effect, 59 social groups recognition size limit for, 144–145 facial, 10–12 strong vs. weak ties in, 145–146 memory recall vs., 57 social interactions, 143–163 pattern, 8–9 brain responses in, 156–158 reconstructed memories, 61–62 honesty and lying in, 153–155 reinforcement, schedules of, 120–122 imitation and empathy in, 147–148 repetition, memory and, 55 laughter as bonding in, 159–161 reviews and ratings, 220–223 as motivating factor, 128 rewards real vs. fake smiles in, 162–163 anticipating vs. getting, 124 response to friends/relatives in, 157–158 goal motivation related to, 118–119 rules of online, 151–152 intrinsic vs. extrinsic, 127–128 social group size and, 144–146 power of variable, 120–122 synchronous activity and, 149–150 rhymes, memory of, 60 syncing of brains in, 156 rigid explorations, 200 social media connections, 145, 158 Rodriguez, Alex, 194 social norms, 131 Rucker, Derek, 77 social validation, 220–223 Solso, Robert, 98 S Song, Hyunjin, 42 saccades, 32–33 sounds, attention-getting, 112–113 salient cues, 106 St. Claire, Lindsay, 194 Salimpoor, Valorie, 181 Stephens, Greg, 156 satisficing principle, 132–134 storytelling, 82–84 scarcity and exclusivity, 182 appropriate use of, 84 schemata, 55–56 causation implied in, 83–84 Schooler, Jonathan, 74 classic themes for, 83 Schwarz, Norbert, 42 evoking emotions through, 170 screens structure and format for, 82–83 people’s scanning of, 15–16 stress perceived affordances on, 18–19 errors made under, 192–195 reading on paper vs., 45 gender and reactions to, 194 Seif, Farid, 103 memory performance and, 51, 193 selective attention, 98–99 reducing with sweets and sex, 194 sensory input strong-tie communities, 145, 146 sensitivity to, 114–115 Stumbling on Happiness (Gilbert), 184 working memory vs., 51 suffix effect, 59 serif vs. sans serif fonts, 40 surprises, 173–174 Sesame Street video, 87 sustained attention, 105 shapes, influence of, 3, 13–14 synchronous activity, 149–150 Shappell, Scott, 199 systematic explorations, 200 shortcuts and defaults, 135 Szameitat, Diana, 160 short-term memory. See working memory Shulz-Hardt, Stefan, 216 T sight. See vision task switching, 107 signal detection theory, 114–115 Telling Lies (Ekman), 166 signaling events, 104 testimonials and ratings, 220 Sillence, Elizabeth, 179 text messages Simon, Herbert, 132 dopamine system and, 126 Simons, Daniel, 21, 83 rate of lying in, 154 Skinner, B. F., 120 thinking, 67–96 sleep, memory and, 60 categorizing and, 87–88 small commitments, 77 cognitive dissonance and, 76–77 smiles, real vs. fake, 162–163 conceptual models and, 80–81

242 INDEX confirmation bias and, 91–92 low-light situations and, 3 cultural differences in, 95–96 object identification and, 8–9 examples and, 85–86 pattern recognition and, 8–9 flow state and, 93–94 peripheral vs. central, 5–7 loads related to, 71–73 screen scanning and, 15–16 mental models and, 78–79 visual field changes and, 21–22 mind wandering and, 74–75 visual cortex progressive disclosure and, 68–70 2D vs. 3D vision and, 4 storytelling and, 82–84 imagination and activity in, 14 time perception and, 89–90 information processed in, 13 third-person effect, 222 visual load, 71, 73 tickle laughter, 160 Time Paradox, The (Zimbardo and Boyd), 89 W time perception, 89–90, 94 wandering mind, 74–75 titles and headlines, 37 weak-tie communities, 145, 146 Tor, Avishalom, 140 websites trial and error explorations, 200 color-blindness check, 28 trust, 179–180 cultural color chart, 29, 30 tunnel action, 193 on readability of text, 36, 41 typefaces. See fonts using under stress, 192 Weiner, Eric, 179 U Wheatley, T., 11 Ulrich, Roger, 178 When Prophecy Fails (Festinger), 76 Ulrich-Lai, Yvonne, 194 Wiegmann, Douglas, 199 uncertainty, 77, 220 Wiesel, Torsten, 13 unconscious decision-making, 204–207 Wilson, Matthew, 60 unconscious motivation, 127 Wiltermuth, Scott, 149 unconscious selective attention, 98 words universal emotions, 166–167 brain processing of, 38 unpredictability, 125–126 reading and the shape of, 32 uppercase letters, 32, 33–34 working memory USS Vincennes incident, 100 academic success and, 51 brain processes and, 50–51 V four-item rule and, 52–54 value-based decisions, 218–219 sensory input vs., 51 van der Linden, Dimitri, 196 wrong-action errors, 197 Van Veen, Vincent, 76 variable rewards, 120–122 X video x-height of fonts, 43 examples provided through, 86 fake smiles detected on, 163 vision, 1–30 Y affordance cues and, 17–20 Yarbus, Alfred, 22 brain processes and, 2–4, 13–14 Yerkes, Robert, 192 chromostereopsis and, 24 Yerkes-Dodson law, 192–193 color blindness and, 25–28 Yoon, Wan Chul, 200, 201 color meaning and, 29, 30 eye-tracking research, 11, 21–22 Z facial recognition and, 10–12 Zagefka, Hanna, 137 inattention blindness and, 21 Zihui, Lu, 95 item proximity and, 23 Zimbardo, Philip, 89

INDEX 243